Category Archives: eBook

Female circumcision is a traditional practice in many parts of Africa that has significant medical consequences. The main arguments in its favor, including cleanliness, aesthetics, improved health and social benefits, are refuted in this monograph. This practice was studied in Sierra Leone, where it affects 90% of females, and is carried out by secret societies. Female initiates are usually in their early teens and must undergo training and participate in elaborate rituals. The health effects vary with the typ of circumcision and the conditions under which it is performed. Immediate consequences include pain, hemorrhage, urinary tract problems, and serious infections. Scar formation leads to late sequelae of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, pelvic infections and abscesses, hematocolpos, infertility, difficulty urinating, urinary tract infections and anal incontinence and fissures. Female circumcision is also a cause of later reproductive difficulty due to obstructed labor, resulting in several obstetrical complications. Psychological effects differ among women who have undergone it voluntarily, and those who have been forced to undergo this ritual, with the latter suffering much more psychologically. A pilot study of 135 people in Sierra Leone found that a significant number favor female circumcision and believe that it is essential to their culture. This attitude is related to illiteracy. In a survey of 300 women in Sierra Leone, tradition was the most common reason given for circumcision (85%), followed by social identity and religion. Circumcision was related to Muslim religion and inversely related to educational level. Statistical breakdown by tribe, method, complications, age, and attitude regarding circumcision is provided. A detailed strategy for the eradication of female circumcision is outlined.

Psycholinguistic approaches to ritual labia minora elongation among the Baganda women of Uganda

Villa E., Grassivaro Gallo P

ABSTRACT

Ritual elongation of the labia minora is a particular expansive modification of the external genitalia exercised for cultural motives (FGM type 4 – WHO 1996). The practice is common among the Baganda women of Uganda, where a variety of terms describe the rite.

Psycholinguistic analysis was conducted both in present day Africa, where elongation of the labia minora results from ritual manipulation, and through the bibliographical accounts of western authors (anthropologists and doctors) from the 1950s/60s.

A semantic polarization results in the linguistic expressions. In Africa, the positive connotation of terms used to describe the rite indicates its substantial valorisation. The vocabulary used by western authors, however, includes reference to aspects of rural Europe suggestive of poverty and ignorance (“apron”), or symbolic ridicule of the manipulated feature, equating it to the ear of a Coker Spaniel (Spaniel ear nymphae).

Female genital cutting. Evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys.

[No authors listed]

PIP: This article reports on the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Central African Republic (CAR), Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Mali, Tanzania and Yemen. Evidences from the Demographic and Health Surveys indicate that FGM is widely practiced in these countries. About 9 out of 10 women have had at least some part of their external genitalia removed in Egypt, Eritrea, Mali, and northern Sudan, while in Cote d’Ivoire and the CAR the practice is less common. A comparison of prevalence levels among age groups in women aged 15-49 years revealed little or no decline in FGM; however, the CAR displayed a slight, but continuous, decline in prevalence across age groups. Furthermore, educational level and religion were found to affect the prevalence rate. Also, the 1996 clinical study in Egypt found that more than 70% of the study population had at least part or all of their clitoris and labia minora excised. In Eritrea and Sudan, many women undergo infibulation, the most hazardous and extensive form of female genital cutting, which almost entirely closes off the vaginal opening. The study also showed that women who had undergone the operation had experienced adverse health effects like hemorrhage. Widespread and enduring support for FGM among women was noted in Egypt, Mali, and Sudan; only Eritrea appeared to have a critical mass of opposition to the procedure among the adult population, which suggests an openness to change.

They took me and told me nothing. Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan

Human Rights Watch

EXTRACT

In Iraqi Kurdistan a survey by the Ministry of Human Rights in 2009 suggests that in one district over 40
percent of women and girls aged 11-24 years have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). An
NGO survey covering a wider geographical area gives even higher figures. The practice involves the cutting
out of the clitoris, and is carried out mainly on girls between the ages of three and 12 years at the request of
their female relatives, usually by a traditional midwife using an unsterile razor blade. As Gola S. explains,
girls are often unaware what is about to happen to them, they experience great pain during the procedure
and afterwards, and the practice can have lasting physical, sexual and psychological health consequences.

A collection of three brief scholarly treatises on male and female circumcision as viewed in the body of Islamic law. Noting the lack of doubt that male circumcision is a legitimate practice, the papers largely address common misunderstandings about the Islamic ruling in the case of daughters. In publishing these treatises, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean aims to issue an authoritative and conclusive statement about the practice of female circumcision in Islamic countries. The first treatise proves with sufficient documented evidence that sayings or actions concerning female circumcision ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad have no authenticity. Noting the many risks involved in female circumcision, the scholar concludes that the practice “cannot be legitimate under Islamic law”, and further concludes that “female circumcision is neither required nor is it an obligation nor a sunna.” The second treatise, on “Pharaonic circumcision”, or infibulation. reviews the harmful effects of this practice and concludes that it is “an odious crime”. The final treatise confirms these views, concluding that “since female circumcision is not something required and no evidence from religious sources proves that it is either an obligation or a sunna, what remains is that it is an absolute damage that has no benefit”

Introduction:

States Parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children.

In 1984, the President of the Inter-African Committee stated:

An erroneous idea of Religion has played a key role in maintaining the practice of excision and other practices which tend to relegate the woman to a lower status in relation to the man.

In April 1987, the Vice-President of the Inter-African Committee reiterated:

I request more aggressive tactics to put an end to the practice of infibulation. I call for more active support especially from the religious leaders of Islam after it has been confirmed many times that this practice is contrary to the precept of Islam.

In this Committee’s opinion, religion and Muslim religious leaders play an important role in the matter of female circumcision. The goal of this study is to define this role in male circumcision as well as in female circumcision. We shall on purpose avoid any use of the word Islam, as too abstract a notion, and we shall concentrate on the written sources of Muslim law and the opinions of contemporary Arab authors, mostly of Egyptian origin.